CRAFTED at the Port of Los Angeles!

Last weekend was the Grand Opening of CRAFTED at the Port of Los Angeles. Since this amazing craft facility opened up in the town I lived in I couldn’t wait to check it out. CRAFTED is where they refurbished one of the old warehouse buildings, and cleaned it up to bring in different art and craft vendors to showcase their products near the San Pedro waterfront.

It brings convenience to the vendors in the sense that they have one facility to go to each weekend instead of looking for the latest craft fair to attend. CRAFTED at the Port of Los Angeles will be open 52 weeks out of the year Friday – Sunday from 11am to 7pm. The vendors have to be at their booth 75% of the time throughout the year in order to be allowed to exhibit there. This way, the vendors can still attend other craft fairs when needed to help bring more awareness to their brand.

After work on Friday I headed out after inputting my orders to see what it was all about:

As you drive there, in order to park, know you have to turn on 22nd Street, and not into the parking lot directly behind the warehouse off of Harbor Blvd. That parking lot is actually for a construction site, and not the actual parking for the CRAFTED facility. I made that mistake on Friday

And below you will find the things I really loved about my first visit at CRAFTED:

1) How Clean it Was

When you walk into the facility, you will see booths upon booths. You begin walking, and you begin to notice how clean the floor is, and how clean the booths are. The booths start out just as a blocked off square, but then each vendor takes that space and truly begins to make it their own.

2) The Signs

Each booth has a sign above their space that signifies the vendor that is showcasing there, and let me tell you, their signs are amazing. Below you will find a collage of some of the Artist’s signs:

My favorite sign is the top sign created by WoodBrain (Lindsay Zuelich) Her entire booth is surrounded by items made from wood: necklaces, belt buckles, and much more. I love her stuff. Meriebable who shares a booth with Lindsay has amazing purses, and their sign truly draws you into the booth.

The Artistic Rite also has a very beautiful sign available, and I had to showcase it for all of you to see. She sells very beautiful pieces of jewelry and crafts in her booth that are pretty incredible to look at. Parchment is a cookie company that she sells for 2.50 a piece. I tried the chocolate chip and her orange sugar cookies, and they were incredibly moist, and so, so good.

It’s Me, Mary is an artist that sells handmade pot holders, hats, and other fun items throughout her booth. I also took the picture for my friend at Along Comes Mary.

The Red Car Market also put a lot of work into their sign, and after talking to one of the ladies in the booth, she told me they were very proud of their sign, and I don’t blame them. Inside their booth they have a variety of gourmet food options including: sauces, Pop Candy, San Angel Mole, All Spice Cafe, and a few others. They are definitely worth checking out.

And then Hydrangea Hippo. I loved her sign, but more importantly, I love her booth. If you’re an avid scrapbooker, you will also love it. She has a lot of handmade scrapbooks available for purchase, also some journals, and if you look in one corner, a place destinated for all things Disney =)

3) They’re Going to Expand!

Grand opening for CRAFTED is just the beginning phase. There are 2 buildings, and their goal is to eventually fill both. Every 3 months, more space will open up, and more vendors will come in. In the end, they are hoping to have 500 vendors fill this warehouse, and have fun events happening every weekend throughout the year. YES, I’m so excited that I live so close to this fun facility.

4) Performances throughout the Day!

Grand opening had a host of events from pony rides outside, food trucks on the side to fill your food needs, and even performances from local artists such as: The Lonely Wild, Alicia Murphy, SilverLake Contemporary Ballet. And I’m sure every weekend they will have other performers come in to showcase their talent throughout the year.

5) The ART

And just walking around and seeing the amazing talent all over. There is jewelry, wonderful lotions, apparel, art, illustrations, and photography, home decor and accessories, succulent plants, stationary and paper goods, toys and games, and even booths on events around the area in San Pedro.

And not to mention some of the food that can be found throughout the booths (which I have to admit, are my favorite to buy and browse through.)

They had an incredible grand opening weekend where some vendors were even selling out of their products. So, I look forward to keeping an eye on CRAFTED and see what vendors will be at the next stage of expansion. It is definitely worth checking out, and perhaps, next weekend when you hit up BATTLESHIP Iowa, you will also take some time to take a peek at all the wonderful Vendors found at CRAFTED.